Of Being a Hero
by zizzy333
Summary: Danny has a lot of problems. One, he is kidnapped by 4 men bent on revenge. Two, he doesn't really know *why* they kidnapped him- but they're determined to kill him... and three, he can't just look out for himself. He also has to look out for Star. PostPP
1. Kidnapped

Summer Reading 2007

ZIZZY'S BACK FOLKS! I think you guys will like this one. I have it all typed out already. Normally I'm on like page 30 and only halfway through, but this one, I'm done. All typed out and everything. So this means…

CONSISTENT UPDATES EVERY WEEK! Hooray me! \o/

Here's the prologue.

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_Kidnapped_

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She had it all planned out very carefully. Every night, she saw Phantom open his window before he went to sleep. Why? She didn't know or really care. Probably for a quick start if a ghost came by, or maybe he got hot at night or something. Right under his window was some vines and gating that she was sure she would be able to climb up.

She had watched him in class before. How he would sleep. He would be completely knocked out, even when Lancer called him out. That was before they knew.

She looked at the dark window right as a cold wind blew her blond hair out of her face. She shivered. This could all go wrong. It was a dare. A stupid dare. Why was she even doing this? She just had to remind herself of the new Coach purse that she couldn't quite afford. They just needed some extra cash.

Looking back, she realized she should have turned back when there was still time. She could have avoided all of the trouble that was about to happen. If she had just stayed outside for a few extra minutes, everything would be different.

But at that moment she finally shook off all of her quivers, and stepped off the curb with only one thing on her mind. Star had to get those homework papers.

Ever since Danny revealed himself to be Phantom thing have been different. He was now a big time famous huge super star, and not just in Casper High… all around the world. Yet the thing that puzzled her was that he and his dorky little friends were just the same. Nothing changed about them.

… Well actually Danny was a lot more confident now, along with Tucker. Tucker was also mayor… for two week. He stepped down saying that he would rather work with Danny, but his time in office was fun while it lasted. Lastly Sam was a lot happier-- or more happy than usual. Even though she was Goth, everyone noticed that when Danny and her finally got together she seemed a lot more approachable.

The strange thing was that the trio didn't let the fame get to their head. They had risen even above their little A-list clique. When Dash used to bully Danny and Paulina used to insult Sam, now they were almost afraid to approach them, even though they never did anything to retaliate. However that didn't stop the A-list from talking _about _them.

In fact, that's why Star was running towards the Fenton house in the middle of the night. One: because Dash, Kwan and Paulina had dared her to and two: because she needed some extra cash.

She latched on to the gate and vines and started crawling up towards the ghost-boys window. No, she wasn't going to steal from them. Well… nothing like cash or anything. She was going to steal some of Danny's old homework papers. Then she could sell them on e-bay for lots and lots of cash. Then she could afford that new Coach bag.

Dash, Paulina, and Kwan watched her from a hidden spot from across the street, namely, behind the neighbor's trash, in a small ally that let out on the other side of the street. They took bets to see if Star would actually have the guts to do it or not. So far it looked like Kwan was winning.

Using her gymnastic skills, she stealthily climbed up the gating and quietly swung herself into Phantom's room. It stuck her odd that the Fenton's had so much protection to keep ghosts away while they had only a burglar system for keeping humans out.

She didn't even breathe as she scanned around the dark room. There he was, snoring slightly, sprawled against his bed. The walls were covered in posters of spaceships and occasionally a newspaper clipping. There were various thing scattered across the floor, ranging from dirty clothes to ghost weapons.

After analyzing the room she found what she was looking for. A desk with a computer nearly completely buried under books and papers scattered everywhere. She crept over to the desk, thanking her new diet that the floorboards didn't creak, and made sure not to step on the mess in her path. When she got there she heard a heavy sigh. She froze. Danny turned over in his bed and bunched up the covers so his feet were now sticking out. She didn't move until his quite snore came back.

She let out a long breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Without even looking, she grabbed some of the papers and started stashing them into her backpack, as quickly and as quietly as possible.

Meanwhile Dash, Paulina, and Kwan were waiting for Star to come back out. Kwan was getting nervous. "Where is she?" He asked in an urgent whisper.

"She just got in there stupido. It's only been like three seconds." Paulina snapped, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to another.

"Yeah." Dash added his insightful two cents in. In reality they were all nervous. They began to think it was a bad idea. That's when they saw it. A car turned on to the street and started to drive up it slowly. It was an old painters van, with only three windows for the front, passengers and driver. They were all heavily tinted, and the van itself looked worn down, with the white coat starting to chip off.

The speed limit on this street was thirty miles per hour and the van seemed to only be going five. It gave all three of them the chills.

"What's up with that van?" Paulina asked irritably, trying to hide her uneasiness.

"I dunno." Dash shrugged.

Kwan, however, wasn't afraid to express his emotions. "There is defiantly something freaky with that car. Who is driving around at midnight anyways? I don't like this guys…" He whispered, and Dash felt his body tense, as if ready to spring up from his crouched position and run.

"Shut up Kwan! Calm down already!" Dash snapped. Kwan didn't say anything, but Dash felt him shaking next to him. Finally when the car got in front of the Fenton's house, it stopped.

Scared of being heard, the A-list trio didn't say anything. Now they hoped Star would stay in Phantom's room a little bit longer.

Then two guys, dressed in black with ski masks on jumped out of the car. One went around back while the other looked up at the dark house. The one in back opened the door and two more men dressed in black popped out.

Dash had to hold Kwan down so he didn't jump up and run, and Paulina had turned deathly pale. They watched as two of the men from the back passed out equipment from the back of the van. A rope, some cloth, something that was glowing green, and…

Dash had to tackle Kwan to the ground, a hand clamped over his mouth so he didn't make a sound. He was struggling madly, trying to get free, but also trying to be quite at the same time.

"Kwan I swear to God if you do not stop squirming you're going to get us killed!" Dash whispered furiously. Kwan stopped moving and pushed Dash off of him.

"Did you see that!? Did you see that!?" Kwan whispered, panicked. "Those were guns! They were passing out guns!"

Paulina looked ready to faint. "We need to get out of here. _Now_." She stated. As soon as the men with guns were working their way towards the house, Kwan jumped up and ran out of the back of the ally, and Dash and Paulina were right at his heels. They completely forgot about Star, who was zipping up her bag quietly in Danny's room.

She had just shouldered her bag when she heard something rustling outside. Already stressed, she nearly panicked when she heard the noises. They were defiantly going to wake up Phantom! She looked around wildly, and nearly dived into his closet. She hid behind the piles clothes, making sure she was well hidden.

Not a second later a head appeared in the window. She immediately thought "Ghost" but she knew that wasn't right. If it was a ghost, Phantom's ghost sense would have gone off… and they probably wouldn't have a ski mask on. The man silently clambered into the room, followed by another. And another. And another. There were four of them in all.

Star was sweating bullets now. What was going on? Then they started to whisper. "You grab him right when I give him the shot ya hear?" One whispered, holding up something glowing. The man across from him nodded. He pointed to the one on his right "You watch the door and-"

"I knock his lights out." The last one said, almost excitedly.

"Right. Make sure he won't wake up on the way down."

The last chucked quietly. "Don't worry about that."

Star was stunned by what they were saying. What were they planning? Suddenly she saw something that made her heart stop. As the man went to guard the door he absentmindedly twirled a gun in his hand. She reflexively twitched. Her instincts wanted her to get up and run, but of course, she knew that would be suicide. She stayed where she was, and stayed quite.

She watched through the crack as the three men crowded around Danny and got ready. She felt the urge to yell out and warn him, but the urged was quickly canceled out by her fear of the guy with the gun that was closer to her.

The leader with the glowing shot signaled to the guy leaning over Danny by holding up three fingers. Then he put down one, and then the other. They jumped him.

She saw the whole thing. The first guy grabbed Danny by the neck right as the leader plunged the needle into Danny's arm. Danny's eyes shot open in alarm, and his hands shot up to the hands holding his neck, but the guy with the shot was holding one of his arms down as he injected the glowing stuff into him. What ever it was, it wasn't good. Danny's back arched and he opened his mouth to scream but he couldn't make a sound because his air way was cut off.

The only thing that reached Star's ears was short gasping from Danny and rustling. It wasn't enough to wake up his parents. Why didn't he just go intangible? Then something seemed to click in Star's mind. That stuff was shorting out his powers.

As soon as the leader stepped away from Danny, the third guy came in, holding a metal rod. Star saw him raise the rod over his head, grinning madly, and she saw Danny's eye's widen. She closed her eyes and turned her head, as there were several sickly thuds. Then everything was quite again.

Star still didn't open her eyes for a while and she heard some other noises. "That'll hold him." She opened her eyes again, willing herself not to cry or faint as Danny's limp form was tossed over the strongest ones' shoulder, his hand bound up and blood dripping from his head.

Then they exited one by one out the window. Soon the room was empty again. It was like nothing had even happened, except that Danny was now missing. She looked up and saw something on the bed. She shakily stood up and forced her legs to walk over to it.

It was a letter, made out of newspaper clippings. She picked it up and read, "W_**E**_ H_a__**v**_**e** _y_o**u**r so_n_. **We** _aRe_ do_**i**_N_**g**_ the **w**or_l_d a _**f**_av**o**r b_y_ Get**t**in**g** ri_d_ _**o**_f h_i_m. K**eE**p it _**q**_u**i**tE an_d_ yo**u** w_i_ll b_**e**_ He**a**ri_ng_ aga_In_ fr**o**_**m**_ _u_S **s**_**o**_O**n**." It wasn't signed. She put in back down. Her legs seemed to have turned into Jell-o. That's when her sixth sense went off. Someone was staring at her. She slowly turned around.

She had forgotten there were four guys. She had forgotten about the guy with the gun. How she forgot it, she wasn't sure. He was left behind to clean up any prints they might have left. Star and him stared at each other in shock for a moment.

Before she could even scream, Star promptly fainted.

It didn't take her long to wake up. The guy was bringing her down the vines. Her hands were bound and her mouth was gagged. She looked out and saw two guys hauling Danny to an old white van, while one guy watched the progress of her coming down. Then she saw Danny's eye's open.

Soon the guy that was holding her hopped down onto the grass and another one approached him. "What is this supposed to be?" He asked, infuriated.

The guy holding her replied, "A witness. She was hiding in the closet. I don't know who she is. She's not his sister."

The other guy cursed. "Fine. Put her in the van." Suddenly he smiled devilishly. "She could be a little fun." Star felt bile rise up in her throat. She didn't want to think about what he meant. Luckily she was distracted.

"Wes!" A guy dragging Danny yelled. Danny had fully woken up and twisted out of their grip. The guy holding her didn't go to help, but placed her on the ground.

"I know you're awake. Stand on your own two fee-" But he was cut off by her starting to struggle. If they knew she was awake, then she didn't have to fake it anymore.

"Hold still!" He yelled, shaking her. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. The guy roughly picked her back up. Scared and vulnerable, she stopped struggling, but watched as Danny kicked one of the masked guys to the ground, a fierce glare on his face. She had never seen Danny fight in human form… it sort of proved to her that Phantom and him really were the same person.

The second guy suddenly grabbed him from behind, but Danny powerfully twisted to the right, and sent the guy flying to the ground. Danny landed heavily on top of him, winding his captor. Then he kicked the third guy, who Star assumed was "Wes" back, since he had finally caught up to the fight. Then Danny was able to jump up and land on his feet with out using his hands. He was pretty good.

They probably realized the bounding Danny's hand in front of him wasn't such a good idea. Danny swung out with both of his hands and hit Wes so hard that he flew to the ground and skidded to a stop.

However he didn't see the first guy get back up behind him with the metal bar. Star tried to warn him, but when she opened her mouth, she nearly choked on the gag. The guy swung with the force of a professional baseball hitter, Danny's head being the ball, and Star knew he would have cried out if he weren't gagged.

He flew to the ground, stunned, but not totally unconscious, and Wes, who recovered, hoisted him back up by the collar of his black pajamas and pushed him violently again the van. "What the heck do you think you're doing?" He asked furiously, striking his face. Being gagged, the only way Star could tell he was in pain was Danny closed his eyes for a few second, wincing, and opened them again to glare.

Since Danny could not reply, Wes threw an intense punch to Danny's stomach, so he hunched over winded, eyes closed again, and then tossed him to the ground. Danny rolled to a stop, knees pulled up to his chest for protection. "Get him in the van." Wes growled at the two others. "Her too!" He yelled over in Star's direction. Suddenly she was being dragged towards the van.

Star was scared. If Phantom couldn't save her, who could? Danny was tossed roughly into the car, followed by Star. She didn't think he had seen her yet, and right now he was too busy glaring at the guy with the metal bar. Gun guy and metal bar guy stayed back there with them and Wes slammed the back door shut. Then Wes and the other guy climbed into their seats, Wes in the drivers.

Then they took off.

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TBC…

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Hey! Zizzy here, getting Danny into trouble again… Forgive me. I have these ideas randomly in the middle of the night and I'm forced to write them down.

So if you didn't read the top… and I know you didn't because who reads the beginning authors note, then I have some good news!

UPDATES EVERY WEEK!

Because I've already finished the story… well I haven't written the last chapter yet, but c'mon. I can write that when ever I want. I think this story will be 8 or 9 chapters… I think, with them being around 10 pages. This one was 7.

Ok. I'm out for the summer, (YES! WOOHOO!) so I'll be reading lots. See you in your reviews!

Zizzy333.


	2. Temper

Summer Reading 2007

Excuses at the end… heh…

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Chapter 2

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Danny blinked his eyes rapidly, willing the world to stop spinning. His head felt like it had cracked in half. He tried to focus on one spot, but he couldn't seem too. Taking a deep breath he tried to lower his confusion and his sudden panic. He told himself to stay calm but his brain felt slow and muggy, and was barely processing information.

He squinted his eyes in concentration and looked around. He was inside of a worn down van. The only source of light was the street lamps above, and they were whizzing by them much too fast. It had a strobe light effect that made his head throb.

He looked away quickly, trying to analyze his surroundings. He was sitting a corner of the van, by the driver's seat. There were only two seats in the car, the drivers and the passengers. The rest of them were forced to sit uncomfortably on the ground, in a space that was normally used for storage.

The car launched itself over a pothole, making Danny's head hit the side of the car lightly. It was enough for his already agonized head to feel as if a knife were being driven into it. He closed his eyes, taking in sharp breaths, until the throbbing faded away.

He forced himself to wrench open his eyes again and figure out his surroundings. One odd thing he noticed was there was a gate between the front seats and the back that was open at the moment, but if closed, it would cut them off from the front.

He then moved on to the people. He concentrated on the person in front of him, but the strobe lighting made their movements jerky and confusing. Plus they hadn't taken their masks off yet- except for one, crouched in the corner next to him.

He narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn there were only four of them… that's when he noticed the blond hair and her small figure. He inhaled sharply and his eyes widened. It wasn't a man… it was a girl…. a girl he recognized. It was Star.

His already bewildered mind went tumbling. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Why the heck did they want with Star? What did she have to do with any of this? The unanswered questions jumbled his thoughts.

He recognized her from school, basically as the cheerleader that would satellite around Paullina. Wherever the A-list was, she was there too. Before he revealed himself, she would always be the one watching and laughing with the rest of the group as Dash pounded him, or while Paullina mocked him.

However after his secret came out, she was the one who would be next to Paullina as she tried to seduce him, and would wave cheerily from her booth when he walked into the Nasty Burger.

He had never actually talked to her. He admitted he didn't even really know her. Why would they kidnap her with him? His eyes hardened, and his priorities quickly arranged themselves around her. He had to get her out.

He immediately started looking for a weak spot. The back doors had no windows, and they seemed pretty secure. Plus he would have to get through two of his kidnappers to even think about breaking down the door… and with out his ghost powers there was no hope for that.

Danny felt the car round a corner too fast, and he was nearly launched to the other side. He suddenly felt sick. He took deep breaths to make it go away, but the gag made it hard. He felt like he was slowly suffocating.

The road under them was smooth, and the engine rumbled loudly. With a sinking feeling, he guessed they had made it to the highway.

"Take off the ghost's gag, Greg," one of the men ordered from his seat in the front of the van, motioning offhandedly towards a bound Danny curled up in the corner. Apparently this man was the leader of the group, as the plump man called "Greg" sitting across from Danny, immediately straitened up and crawled toward their captive.

Both Danny and Star's eyes widened in fear as the man approached, pulling a pocket knife out of his slacks and in one swift movement slicing it down the right side of the half ghost's face. The gag fell unceremoniously to the ground, Danny's aching eyes flitting from the gag, the blood dripping from his face, to the covered face of the man threateningly towering over him.

Fear turned to shock, which finally morphed into his alter ego's steel resolve. Danny's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who are you and what do you want?" He ground out between clenched teeth, an already frightened Star jumping in shock. His fast recovery surprised her.

Danny willed his eyes to focus on the man in front of him. The harsh sting of his new cut and his aching head made him want escape into unconsciousness again, but he knew from his ghost fighting experience that it was a bad idea- to say the least.

"That's none of your business," growled the man named Greg.

"What do you mean 'it's none of my business'," hissed Danny, "because as much as I love being woken up in the middle of the night to get my face smashed in, I would like to get to the point of this and then go home."

They all laughed at this for some reason and it made the two teens uneasy. "I bet you would like that wouldn't you." The man in the passengers seat said, while pulling off his mask. The quickly passing lights above gave Danny a glimpse of a scraggily beard and a flash of black hair. He was also rather large around the middle.

The rest seemed to follow the fat man's example, as if remembering they had on masks.

"I'm afraid we can't let that happen." Greg stated in a mock sadness, his grin sending chills down Danny's spine. A light went over him to show a mop of curly red hair and freckles, and a face maybe around his late twenties.

Danny glared up at him, his blue eyes piercing the man in front of him like ice. "And why not?" Danny voice was dead calm.

"Because you don't belong here, ghost." The leader said, laughing.

Danny whipped his head back up to the drivers seat to look at the leader. His face was illuminated red by the dashboard, so Danny could see more. He had a broad face and cold eyes, with dirty blond hair in a military cut.

With the leaders last comment, Danny felt he was starting to get a gist of where this was heading. "…You know, you're starting to sound a _lot_ like the old Valerie. It's Danny, not 'ghost'. And what do you mean by 'you don't belong here?'"

"You are an accident Danny," Greg said, saying his name as if he were talking to a baby, "a freak."

"And we are going to put you back were you belong." The last finally joined in gravely. Danny looked back to the corner so fast it nearly gave him whiplash. He had forgotten about the last one. He seemed to be the strong silent type. The air in the small car seemed to change when he spoke. The other three stiffened slightly, and nodded in agreement.

Danny tried to look over him, but he was too far in the shadows to see much. All he could see was a flash of his unwavering eyes, glaring at him fiercely.

Danny shot him a confused look, but then he looked down and saw Star again. She seemed okay, but horrified nearly to the point of tears.

"Are you okay? What are you doing here?" Danny hissed under his breath, causing a clearly guilty Star to flinch and shrink away from the half ghost in embarrassment.

The leader shrugged his broad shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine," the dirty blonde replied offhandedly, "She was in your room when we grabbed you, so now she's along for the ride."

Danny's drug-addled mind took a good second to process the information. "What were you doing in my room?" Danny's voice was a mix of confusion and irritation. Star felt her face heat up and the phrase '_So_ busted' was the only thing that came to mind. For the first time, she was rather thankful for the gag stuffed down her throat, making her unable to reply.

Danny decided to focus on the present, and ask questions later. "Let her go." He demanded.

"Excuse me? You don't have the right to demand anything right now, ghost." Greg spat, his face reddening with rage.

"You don't need her. She'll uh- just slow you guys down." Danny offered, trying to convince them.

"No, you're right, we don't need her… but she could make this trip a bit more fun…" the fat one replied wiggling his eyebrows. Their kidnappers laughed. Danny's eye's glowed green, sickened and enraged.

"I said _let her go_." He growled between clinched teeth, his eyes lighting up the back of the car. The car fell silent and Danny saw Greg eyes widen at his glowing glare. Then they narrowed. With a lung, Greg grabbed him by the throat.

Danny gasped in surprise as his airway was cut off. His eyes lost their angry glow immediately, replaced by shock and sudden panic. He started to try and push him off.

"Listen freak, you don't ever do that freaky eye thing again. Got it?" Greg threatened. Danny gasped and spluttered, his struggling getting more frantic, but he looked defiantly into Greg's eyes. "Got it?!" He yelled again, grabbing Danny's hair and yanking his face up to meet his.

Danny took his bound hands and sharply dug them into Greg's ribs. With a gasp Greg stumbled back, knocking away Danny's hands. Danny slouched to the ground, coughing and gasping for air as Greg approached for retaliation.

Danny, already levered in position, kicked Greg in the chest as hard as he could with out ghost powers, and he went flying back to the other side of the car, landing slightly on 'Strong and Silent'.

"Got it! Jesus! Take a chill pill!" Danny yelled, straitening up and glaring at Greg the entire time, making sure the glow was firmly switched to off. He grimly thought 'if looks could kill…'

Greg flipped the pocketknife open threateningly.

"Calm yourself, Greg," The blond driver said warningly. Then, looking through the rear view mirror, his eyes turned to Danny. "You don't have a say in anything, ghost." Danny didn't reply and instead watched Greg as he flipped the knife closed again. He felt helpless without his powers. He turned back to the driver, since he seemed to be the leader.

"How did you manage to short out my powers?" Danny asked, straight to the point.

Blondie chuckled slightly. "That shot we gave you. Every two hours we have to give you another dose." Danny's eyes hardened, a plan already formulating in his head.

"Don't even start." The fat passenger growled as if reading his thoughts. "We have a timer that rings ever two hours, and we have enough of those shots to last for a few good weeks."

Danny's heart sank. "Weeks?!" The two laughed. "What do you plan on doing that's going to take weeks?" He asked incredulously.

Greg, dead serious, looked him straight in the eyes. "That's just a precaution. We don't plan on you being around that much longer."

Danny's voice rose slightly in frustration. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

They all laughed again, the laugh that made him think of Plasimus. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see." Greg said, a dark look on his face.

Several red flags shot up, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. "What do you want from me?" He hissed instead.

"To die." Strong and Silent replied, his deep voice seeming to finalize the statement. Danny met his gaze, and raised his chin slightly, trying get across that he didn't scare him.

"You're a monster." Fat and bearded snarled. Danny turned to look at him instead. "You act like a hero, but really you love violence and destruction."

"Is that what you think?" Danny asked calmly.

"You enjoy watching people suffer. Give it up Phantom. Why do you think other ghosts attack the city? They like seeing the people scramble in fear, feeding off their emotions of horror and despair. It makes them feel powerful. And you're no different." Blondie stated.

Danny bristled. "All I do is throw myself in front of these attacks for you everyday, and somehow you twist it up so it makes me the bad guy?"

"You like people thinking you're the hero, don't you?" Greg asked. Danny didn't answer, waiting for him to go on. "You like people thinking you're the hero so you feel powerful. And then, selectively, when people are in trouble, you feed from them, watching as they wait for you to save them. But you never do, do you? You just sit back and watch them die."

"Oh. I see," he replied sarcastically. "So this is why you kidnapped me then." It wasn't a question. He knew it would be pointless arguing with them. They were obviously crazy.

"Yes. And I've had it about up to here with your brave and heroic act, ghost." Greg hissed.

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but it's not an act." Danny shot back. His head throbbed again, reminding him what he was dealing with. He clinched his teeth.

"Why don't you just give it up?! You're not fooling anyone! We all know the truth in this car." Greg growled.

Danny felt his anger boiling. "I have nothing to give up," Danny said calmly, successfully holding back his yell. "Why would I do that? Why would I put my life on the line just to feed off people?" He introduced the facts, trying to make them see some sort of light. "Plus I can't even feed off people, I'm human!"

Greg face started reddening again. "You're not human, ghost, so stop pretending to be," he yelled. "Admit it! You're nothing but a monster!"

Danny growled in frustration. He knew he was dealing with lunatics, but being woken up in the middle of the night, getting beaten up, and then wrongfully accused made his judgment falter. "How many times to I have to say it? _I have nothing to admit."_ Danny replied through clinched teeth.

Greg yelled in frustration, and he seemed to be on the urge of a tantrum. "Greg- he's not going to admit it." The fat one said. "Just sit down."

Greg stayed tense however, poised over Danny threateningly. "Go on." Danny said, mockingly. "Sit down."

There was a tense moment of silence. Greg was breathing heavily, undecided, his hands itching to grab the knife again. Danny dared him to, but then quickly remembered that he didn't have ghost powers.

Danny made eye contact with Star for a quick second, just to see her watery gaze. She was scared, and he wasn't making things any better.

Finally Greg sat down, and Danny breathed a silent sigh of relief.

The entire car seemed to relax a little. The fat one said comfortingly to Greg, "He's going to get what's coming to him in the end anyway." This seemed to calm him down a bit, but he still glared daggers at Danny, and he glared right back.

--

Finally Danny found the first opportunity to talk to Star when Blondie forced Fatty and Greg to trade seats. Fatty liked his seat, and Greg apparently had little torture ideas planned out for Danny, and they both didn't want to trade. An argument broke out, so Danny scooted over to Star.

"I don't know who these crazies are…" he whispered to her, "but I promise that I'll help you get to safety the first chance I get." Star, not quite sure what else to do, nodded, and felt a bit of hope spring up inside her.

She was sitting in the car with Danny Phantom, and he had just promised her he'd help her get to safety. Normally she wouldn't have felt safer, but the only problem was he didn't seem to be even able to keep himself protected.

Once again, she was a bit relieved that she couldn't reply back with the gag down her throat, and Danny quickly noticed. "And I'll ask them to take that off for you." Then he scooted back to his place, before any of their kidnappers noticed, and willed his headache to go away.

Finally Greg and Fatty switched places after many death threats, surprisingly not all aimed at Danny. Finally Strong and Silent spoke up again. "We should try and get some sleep. We've got a lot of road to go."

And as soon as he finished his sentence, Danny seemed to realize just how tired he was. He suddenly felt like he could sleep for years, but he saw his window of opportunity. "Can you take off Star's gag first? I don't want her to suffocate in her sleep," he asked, trying not to sound too demanding.

They didn't really seem to care. "Fine. Bill...?" Fatty, apparently called 'Bill' took out a pocketknife, similar to Greg's. Star shrank back.

"And don't you dare hurt her." Danny outright threatened, reminded of how Greg cut his cheek. It still stung.

"Watch yourself," the driver shot back, who was the only one who didn't seem sleepy at all. Bill took her gag off, careful not to hurt her, and Star started coughing. Her mouth and throat felt like a desert, but she was too scared to ask for water, and too sleepy to really care.

Danny felt his eyes close unwillingly, but he was not alone. The rest of the car seemed to fall into an uneasy sleep as well, but Star forced her eyes to stay open for a little while longer, watching the boy next to her.

It was strange, seeing him so vulnerable. A year ago, she would have never guessed that she would be placing her trust into the geeky school nerd to get her out of this situation safely. But a year ago, she would have never guessed that the world-saving Danny Phantom was that same geeky school nerd.

But then Star felt her thoughts begin to drift and she found herself nodding off to sleep without her consent. There was no fighting it. She was asleep before she could even lie down properly.

--

Hi guys…

Sorry. My Internet was down the entire summer. I kid you not. This isn't just some crazy excuse.

So I would like to thank my short-lived beta, DoomInAJar, because for the one chapter we kept up correspondence, she was amazing. Bun in the end I decided that junior year of high school takes priority over fanfiction, so I'm just going to post up the chapters the way they are.

Alrighty. I'll try to keep the updates coming pretty quickly here, now that I'm back online.

And I want to thank my reviewers!

Mary Blondine, DoomInAJar, hollagirl, Blackkaosrose, Brenda, Acosta perez jose Ramiro, Strgrl 4eva, and Lily (x2!!)

And to answer some of your questions, I don't really mean it to be a Star/Danny fic romantically, considering I absolutely love Sam and Danny together, but this is more of a bonding fic between them. I dunno… maybe you could read between the lines and make it out to be a Danny/Star fic…

But basically what I'm aiming for is that they both get thrown into this impossible situation, and somehow a friendship forms. Now their only problem is they've just got to live through it.

Thanks! And please review!

Zizzy333


	3. Radio

Summer Reading 2007

AHA! On time! Bring it!

… but don't get too comfy with this. Junior year sucks.

And just a refresher. Fatty Bill, Feisty Greg, Strong and Silent Max, and Blondie/ leader Wes. … Or at least you'll know all these at the end of the chapter.

--

Chapter 3

--

Danny awoke when it was still dark out. He was a bit confused as to why he woke up until he felt the tingling sensation all over his body. He groggily sat up. This caught Blondie's attention, and he looked back in his review mirror.

The tingling sensation was getting more intense, but it was different from his foot, or him arm falling asleep. In fact, it was almost the opposite, as if they were coming back to life. Then he realized what was happening. He was getting his powers back.

He looked at his hand and tried to turn it intangible. It required a lot of work. When he normally he called upon his powers, they came like a waterfall, soaking him through in a moments notice, but this came more like maple syrup.

He concentrated and after a moment his hand finally turned intangible. He smiled, until a piercing beep interrupted his thoughts. Blondie jumped, causing the car to swerve a bit. The motion made Danny feel sick.

Unfortunately, Blondie recovered quickly. He started shaking Greg, sleeping in the seat next to him. "Wake up! It's time to give him the shot!" Greg tried to smack him away but Blondie was persistent.

"Fine!" He finally yelled, getting up. He reached under his seat and pulled out a small cardboard box. Danny looked at the glowing vials apprehensively and felt the tingling sensation ascend. He started felling dizzy.

Greg gabbed a small glass vial of the liquid, and sucked the substance into the shot, making sure there was no air bubbles in it, and crawled over to Danny menacingly. Danny subconsciously backed away from him, bumping into Bill's legs in the process. Fatty jumped up, as if awoken from a nightmare and looked around wildly.

"Come here ghost." Greg called to him, reminding him of someone calling their dog. Danny tried to see if he could go intangible any faster, but it was still like swimming through a swamp. Greg suddenly latched onto his foot and yanked Danny closer to him. Danny swung around and kicked the shot from his hand.

Greg growled and reached over to grab the shot again, which to Danny's disappointment, hadn't broken. "Bill, hold him." Bill grabbed Danny's wrist and pulled him back over to them. Danny shot him a death glare. At this point the commotion had woken up Strong and Silent and Star as well.

If Danny thought he would be able to get out of the situation, he would have struggled more, but he really had no hope that he would be able to get away this time. But of course he wouldn't go down without a fight. Maybe if he broke the shot, it would give him enough time to get his powers to the point he could actually do something with them.

Danny twisted out of Bill's grip and backed right into Strong and Silent. "Max! Grab him!" Bill yelled. 'Max' knew what he was doing, and quickly grabbed a gun and held it to his head. A loaded click resounded throughout the car. Danny didn't move.

Star watched Greg crawl over to Danny and it reminded her of a moment they had shared together in their past, when they sat together in fifth grade science. Star hated sharing a table with the loser. On the first day of classes, they started learning about different kinds of bugs. They watched a movie on it, and Star was scarred.

Star watched Greg and compared it to a Black Widow Spider crawling over to its prey… and knowing Greg wanted payback it wasn't going to be pretty.

When Greg reached Danny he grabbed him roughly by the collar. "You can't get away Phantom." Then he grabbed his bound hands and yanked his arms out straight, Danny glaring at him the whole time.

"Now hold still…" He said, getting ready to inject the shot. Danny, whose head was still spinning from slowly getting his powers back, yanked his arms away, and instead grabbed Greg's arm and twisted.

Greg cried out surprised and dropped the shot. Then Danny tried to smash it with his foot, but the plastic shot wouldn't break. Max butted the head of the gun into Danny's temple, but he ignored it.

Danny tried to forget about the loaded gun pointed at his head and concentrated on turning his foot and the shot intangible. He concentrated so hard he didn't even realize Greg's hand swinging round on him, but just before he was hit, it happened.

His foot and the shot sank through the ground of the car. Danny was then forced back further into Max as the blow hit him, but was glad to see that the shot was now gone.

This caused an uproar. Max let go of him in surprise. Bill was pointing wildly at his now tangible foot, and Greg lunged for him, shouting incomprehensible things. Danny kicked Greg off of him before he could really get a good punch in, and scrambled to the other side of the van.

Blondie turned into an empty parking lot and stopped the car, and Star, once again, tried to stay out of the line of fire.

Blondie angrily got out of the car, slammed the back doors open, grabbed Danny and threw him to the ground. With his arms still being tied in front of him, he wasn't able to brace the fall, and hit the ground hard. He groaned.

"Greg, Max, come here and hold him for me. Bill get more of the stuff." Danny looked around the area, trying to see a sign, anything to signify where they were. They were in a dark parking lot at a beginning of what seemed to be a biking trail. There were no lights, except for one far to the East.

Next thing he knew, he was hoisted up by his arms. "And retie his hands _behind_ his back." Blondie was saying. As soon as the ropes around his wrists were untied, he tried to squirm his way out. Suddenly he was hit in the gut with the metal bar.

Yelping, he bent over, winded. "I swear to god ghost, you are way more trouble than it's worth." Blondie growled, slamming the bar into his back. Danny cried out and would have collapsed if Max and Greg weren't still holding him up.

That's when he realized something. "Star! Run!" He gasped out over his shoulder. Star was still sitting in the back of the van, too scared to move.

"If you move kid, we're not afraid to shoot you down!" Blondie yelled, patting his back pocket, where the handle to a small shotgun poked out. Star didn't move.

Finally Bill came over with a new shot. "Here is it, Wes."

"Hold him down." The blond Wes said. Greg and Max pinned him to the car. He couldn't possibly move. Greg was holding his arm so tight he was sure it would break, but he tried not to show it on his face.

Star couldn't see what they were doing; considering she was still in the same spot they left her. They had actually threatened to shoot her. She shivered. Then she shivered for Danny. In a selfish way, she was glad she was not seeing this.

Danny realized he was totally and completely pinned down. He was trapped, no matted how hard he struggled. He watched 'Wes' stab the shot into his arm. Danny bit his tongue. "I'll make it quick so it doesn't hurt, kay?" Wes said in a taunting voice, and then injected it as slowly as possible.

As soon as the substance made it into Danny's body he screamed. It was like liquid fire being channeled in through his arm. He tried to shrink away from it, go intangible, anything, but he was stuck. He closed his eyes and grinded his teeth together, trying not to satisfy them with showing his pain. He could hear Greg laughing beside him. His body shook, rejecting the chemical.

Then it didn't end once the shot was over. Once the entire vial had been emptied into his blood stream, they dropped him to watch him writhe as the substance canceled out half of who he was. Finally it started to wear down to just a dull throb.

Danny tried to regain his breath, and slowly pushed himself onto his knees, his head still down. "Get him back in the car. That's a good enough 'punishment'." Wes snarled. Greg seemed like he wanted to argue but he satisfied himself with kicking Danny back to the ground before picking him up again.

Once everyone was back in the car, Max closed the back doors behind them, and they were off.

It took several minutes for Danny to bounce back. The only thing that was said during the period was, "It hurts doesn't it," by a sickly grinning Greg. Danny didn't respond.

Finally Danny started to get up slowly to sit in a more comfortable position. Once he was sitting with his back against the side, he spoke again. "What is that stuff?"

Bill shrugged. "We got it from the Guys in White. All it does is cancel out a ghost's power so they can experiment on them." Danny shivered. Silence went on for several more minutes. Danny, beaten and tired, slowly drifted off to sleep.

Danny slept for most of the night. He was woken up four times during his nap to be given the shot, which he was too tired to fight off. He put to practice his pain hiding skills.

Star was having trouble sleeping with the alarms going off every two hours, so she let her mind wander. She still couldn't believe the situation she was in. Last night she was so horrified that it seemed to be all a haze, but now she was slightly calmer, but the tense air still hung over them. Star couldn't ignore it. It was just a question of when they decided that she was no longer necessary.

Star was sitting in a car with Danny. A few months ago she would have completely freaked if she were kidnapped with Phantom, and by freaked she meant fan girl obsessive.

However Phantom and Fenton being the same guy really humbled him, in her eyes at least. He was just like everyone else. She didn't see what Paullina saw in him, besides fame and popularity. But now she was realizing that he was more than some idol. He was more selfless than she could have ever imagined.

While Danny was fighting off their kidnappers, she wondered why they seemed to ignore her. It was almost as if they forgot she was there. She guessed Danny was too much of hassle for them to remember her.

Then she started questioning why he seemed to almost be provoking them. Sure, she was also irritated at being dragged into this, but not enough to be practically suicidal, like Danny was. Maybe it was just a hero thing. She had never been around Danny much… or Phantom. But she had always thought him a bit smarter than that... otherwise he wouldn't have survived this long….

Then, she realized, that maybe he was provoking them for her sake. To keep them distracted, to keep them from remembering she was there. She probably wouldn't have figured it out if he hadn't have gone to sleep. But now that he was out, Wes, Bill, Greg, and Max slowly started to turn their attention to her.

After the sun had come up a bit, they drove through a fast food place, where Bill had a hand clamped over her mouth, "just in case". That's when they seemed to remember they had another human being in the back.

However, they took a different tone with her. It wasn't kind or polite, but interested, and with no venom in their voices.

"What's your name?" Wes asked, sitting by the sleeping Danny and passing her a bag of food. Max and Greg were seated in the front now, Max driving.

Star grabbed the food gratefully, and cautiously replied, "Star."

"Star?" Greg asked, twisting around to face her from the front. "Was that the best you could come up with?"

Star shrunk back. "N-no it's my real name." She stuttered out. With this Danny groaned and brought up his hands to rub his eyes. She kept glancing down at him, hoping selfishly they would turn their attention to him again, but her hope was shot down. He was ignored.

"What were you doing in the ghost's room anyways?" Wes asked, irritation tainting his voice.

Danny joined in at this, his voice still gravely from sleep. "Yeah… why were you in my room?" He opened his eyes and looked at her. They weren't accusing… simply curious. He didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was.

Her face heated up again and she mumbled something, shrugging and not meeting his gaze. "Speak up girly!" Greg demanded.

"I said it was a stupid dare." Star stated again, louder. Nobody said anything, waiting for her to continue. She thought her face would melt off. "I was supposed to steal some of your homework so we could sell them on e-bay." She mumbled.

This caused Bill and Greg to let out a low chuckle. Danny didn't say anything, but his gaze got piercing. Star wanted the earth to open up and suck her in. "A dare?" Danny stated, his voice serious. She thought she was going to get it, but this his face melted away to something she didn't expect. "Please tell me they weren't there," he whispered pleadingly.

Star blanched. She had forgotten about her friends. There were five pairs of eyes trained on her, waiting for her answer. She shook her head no, but her eyes screamed "yes". Her and Danny made eye contact for a second, and immediately Danny understood.

Star's mind was tumbling. What happened to them? They were supposed to be waiting for her… did they see her get abducted? Or did they run away?

Danny was also thinking. Had Dash or any of them been hurt? He felt bad, but he quickly shook it off. They brought this upon themselves. It was a bad idea to begin with. He felt bad that they had got sucked into all of this, but it wasn't his fault. He still couldn't get his guilty feelings to disappear entirely.

It wasn't like he could do anything about it anyways.

Danny's thoughts changed when his stomach made a loud grumble. He tentatively broke the silence. "Did you bother to get any food for me?" To his surprise they tossed him some fries. He ate them quickly, hoping they didn't poison them or anything. Once again there was silence. Greg started to fiddle with the radio to find a station.

"Go to 94.5, that's a good one." Bill mumbled.

Greg turned to it, but all they got was white noise. Danny immediately was suspicious. "Are we really that far out of Amity?"

He didn't expect to get an answer, and was surprised when Wes spoke. "The further we get, the better of a chance we get away." Then he grinned sickly. "Besides, our destination is still a good day's trip away."

Finally they found a station that was playing clearly and they stayed. Danny sat back and listened until the song ended and the broadcasters started talking.

A man's voice that sounded like it was normally upbeat said, "That was 'The Anthem Part Two' by Blink 182. Now we have a few more callers on our lines right now with some great stories answering today's question. For those of you who are just joining us and haven't heard the news, we are broadcasting an Amber alert for a certain Danny Fenton, or more commonly known as Danny Phantom."

Greg swerved violently on the road and Wes and Bill yelled, "What?!" Danny's eyes widened and he felt his stomach sink, knowing that their reaction wasn't a good sign. Star, however, felt a little flare or hope… people were looking for them. Max's stare hardened and he turned up the volume.

A woman, sounding to be in her late thirties chipped in, "And it kind of seems strange that of all the people _he_ gets kidnapped, because after awhile you start to think that kid's invincible."

The man cut back in. "Yeah, apparently he went missing from his bed last night, and when his sister walked in to wake him up, she found a note on the bed that said, 'We have your son. _We are doing the world a favor by getting rid of him.' _And I must say that sounds just a bit ominous."

"So now here we are pleading with his kidnappers, if you are listening in, to say he's a good guy. We have asked a question to all of you out there, "how has Phantom changed your life?' and we've gotten calls from all around the area with selfless rescue stories, and we have Jennifer on the phone with us with her personal story, Jen?"

"TURN IT OFF!" Wes yelled, enraged.

Danny kept his mouth shut, feeling the mood in the car change from simmering to nearly boiling. Wes pushed Danny away and grabbed his cell phone from the front of the car. Danny landed roughly on Star.

"Well what did you expect?" Danny asked, sitting himself upright. "You kidnap someone who's saved the world a couple of times and yes, it's going to be public," he said, exasperated. His bound and soar arms were throbbing, but Wes ignored them as he dialed the phone.

Before Danny could register what he was doing, Bill had gagged Danny again, along with Star, so they couldn't make any noise. Danny glared, his eyes going green for a moment, before remembering Greg. He closed his eyes in concentration, and they finally faded back into a blue.

Wes put the call on speakerphone, and Danny's eyes communicated to him nearly just as well as if he had spoken out loud.

"You'll see," Wes replied to the unasked question, smirking slightly. Finally a very disheveled voice answered the phone.

"Maddie Fenton speaking."

--

Here's your next chapter! On time! Woohoo!

And I forgot to respond to ya'lls reviews, so I'll just quickly reply right here.

**DoomInAJar**: Wait… when you say "the whole story," does that mean the actual "whole story"? Like everything I gave you… ? Because if it does it would be totally awesome. Like totally. We'll talk.

**Purrbaby101**: Hello! Oh yay! You understand my Danny / Star thing perfectly. The story was originally not going to have her in it, but I thought it would be a lot cooler if she were. Spice it up, ya know? And yes. I nearly died without my Internet. It really sucked.

**Mary Blondine**: Erm… well, yes I thought of some awesome plot ideas but not for this story. Bah. Good news is that I have like 2 new DP stories to post though! I'm just not as far in them as I would like to be quite yet, but you'll be seeing them soon… maybe.

**Hawkflyer667**: Yes, Danny is an idiot. You should have seen my original copy. There was a lot more stupidness on his part in there. But I kinda wrote in a motive for it. He's trying to distract them from Star.

Please review! Reviews help motivate me! They actually really do.

Thanks!


	4. The Call

fadsfadf

_Authors note below._

_--_

Chapter four

--

Finally a very disheveled voice answered the phone. "Maddie Fenton speaking."

Danny's eyes widened and he started to shake his head 'no'. Star felt a pang of sympathy for the ghost boy.

"We told you to keep it quite." Wes said, trying to disguise his voice deeper and more gravely.

There was a hesitation over the phone. Then Maddie said in a much harsher tone, "Who is this? What have you done with Danny?"

Wes chuckled darkly. "Oh the ghost is here. He's fine… for now." He replied. Danny glared daggers at Wes.

There was another pause. Then her words gushed out, and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Where are you? Can I talk to him?"

He ignored her, and repeated, "We told you to keep it quite, and now you'll have to pay the consequence."

She ignored him as well. "Please!" She paused, recovering from her short outburst. "Let me speak to him."

Wes paused thinking, looking up at Danny. Danny glared back at him equally. Suddenly Wes smiled, a glint in his eye. "Fine." The other three men jumped, but they didn't stop him when he cut Danny's gag off. Danny coughed while Wes quickly rummaged through his bag for something.

Finally he tossed the phone to Danny who caught in and put into his ear.

"Mom?" He asked slowly.

"DANNY!" He nearly dropped the phone, forgetting it was on speaker. "We've been so worried! Are you okay?! They haven't hurt you-"

Finally Wes whipped around with a small hand held device clutched in his fist and threw it towards Danny. Not having enough time to react, the small device hit him in the chest. Suddenly powerful shockwaves ripped through Danny's body, and he screamed. He fell to the floor as Bill grabbed the dropped phone and snapped it shut.

After a moment of letting him suffer, Wes calmly reached towards his pain-racked figure and pealed the device off him. As soon as the pain was gone, Danny tried a weak attempt to lung at Wes, but Bill held him back.

Danny struggled in his grip. "WHY DID YOU CALL THEM?!" Danny yelled, infuriated.

"Because you're parents needed to pay the consequence. We specifically said to keep it quite. I figured them listening to your tortured screams would be enough to shake them up for a few days."

Danny growled and tried to break free of Bill's grasp one last time before he finally fell to the floor, gasping for air.

Star was surprised to find herself glaring at the men and struggling with her bonds for the first time since she was thrown into the car. Why wasn't she trying to blend in with the wall in her corner? She quickly answered her own question: because that was low, even for them.

She had hoped that the call would last longer than forty-five seconds, but the entire thing lasted only forty… five seconds short of being able to be traced. She had counted, making sure to say her Mississippi's in between. She wasn't sure how she knew that… probably off of some movie.

She watched as Wes slowly picked up the phone again, trying to taunt an unseeing Danny. He decided to get his attention. "But we're not done yet." It did the trick. Danny's head snapped up.

"What do you mean?" He growled over Wes's dialing. The phone rang once again. Once. Twice. Three times. It was finally picked up halfway though the fourth by Danny's dad.

"Hello?"

"We still have something to discus." Wes replied in his disguised voice. Jack guessed who it was.

"IF YOU TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON HIS HEAD I SWEAR I'LL--" Suddenly he was cut off, as if the phone was being pulled away from him.

Then Jazz's voice replaced his dad's. "What do you want?" Jazz asked harshly, her voice making her sound cool and collected.

Wes answered in an equally cool voice. "Twenty grand in cash. Drop it off in a blue bag between seventh and Parkway next to the mailbox at two am two days from now. If we see anyone, consider them shot. That's the only way we'll give the ghost another week to live. Got it?"

Without hesitation Jazz answered, "Got it."

Danny took advantage of not being gagged. "Jazz! Don't do it! They're planning on killing me any-" He knew it was coming. With a battle cry, Bill tackled him to the ground, but Danny was ready, and quickly kicked him off.

"And Star's here too! They're canceling out my powers! I can't do this on my own! We need to get her--" But then he saw the phone was already slammed shut. He wasn't sure how much she had heard, but hopefully he got his point across. If they can't find him and help him out, then forget about it.

Wes, in blind rage, swung out and hit Danny in the face as hard as he could muster. Danny yelped and went crashing to the other side of the car, falling on top of a surprised Star. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Danny seemed dazed by the hit, and didn't move for a second. Wes lifted him up by the collar of his shirt and hit him again, with a crack, Danny's head met with the side of the car, and his form went slack.

Wes growled, and threw his limp form back down on Star roughly. She winced.

Then he threw his phone across the car, where it slid under the drivers seat. Not caring, he sat back down in a huff, and said, "I can't wait to see that ghost go." The thought seemed to cheer him up and he smirked darkly.

--

Jack was rubbing Maddie's back comfortingly as she cried silently into his shoulder. Police buzzed around the room, checking their equipment to see if the short calls could be traced. Sam was sitting across from them, her face completely white. She seemed to be swaying slightly. Tucker was sitting next to her, a similar look on his face.

Jazz looked at the pair and noticed how even though they didn't talk or even touch each other, they were probably drawing the most support from each other than even her mom and dad. There seemed to be a visible line of understanding between them, and they didn't even have to ask how the other felt.

Jazz, as if in a daze, went and sat down as well. Then an officer walked up to her. "Who is this 'Star'?"

Surprisingly it was Sam who answered. "Star Connelly. She goes to school with us."

The policeman turned to her. "Why would they kidnap her too? Does she have any connections to Danny?"

Tucker answered for Sam. "Not really… she, Dash, Paulina, Kwan, and some other football players and cheerleaders are on the A list at school. You know… the popular group, and we defiantly aren't. They didn't even take notice of us until recently with the whole… you know… Disasteriod thing."

The officer nodded and said, "We'll call up her parents and talk to this Dash and Paulina. They might know something." Then he walked away to call headquarters.

Jazz took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was so scared. She didn't think anything like this could happen.

'_Jazz! Don't do it! They're planning on killing me anyways! … They're canceling out my powers!'_

Without warning, she felt tears starting to prickle behind her lids. What were they doing to him? The phone call was on speaker, and she still couldn't block out everyone's faces when her brother started screaming.

Her mom actually collapsed backwards, Jack jumped up, his face an expression she had never seen on his face before, and all of the blood seemed to drain out of Tuckers face, Sam looked like she was about to faint. She shivered slightly.

Suddenly Jazz felt someone sit down next to her. She looked up to see Sam with a sympathetic face. Sam wrapped her arms around her and held her as tear's trickled down Jazz's face.

"And you better take lots of comfort in this. I'm going against all Goth values and traditions here by hugging you."

"Thanks Sam." Jazz replied softly, smiling through her tears.

There was a pause, Sam pulled away from her. "I know Danny. He's been in worse situations. He'll find his way home."

Jazz shook her head slowly and bit her lip. "What are they doing to him, Sam? Where are they keeping him? In a dark basement somewhere?" The emotion in her voice made Sam turn to her. She was staring blankly at the wall, her mind obviously miles away.

Sam sighed. "I know where you're coming from. I mean- who would do this? What has he done to deserve it? He's the kindest most selfless person I know… I can see ghost's kidnapping him- but humans?"

Jazz looked up and paused. "Are they really going to kill him?" She whispered.

Sam replied without hesitation. "No. No way." She shook her head violently, dispelling the idea. "He'll pull through. I know he will."

--

Okay, so that's the length for this week. Sorry if it seemed a bit quick… but I have a lot of homework and fanfiction is (sadly) on the bottom of my priority list.

And the thing they shocked Danny with is a stunner from the Guys in white. I didn't really feel like writing that in there… it would ruin the mood. "Oh! Interesting! What is that?"

So anyways, keep reviews coming, and I'll (try to) keep the chapters coming! Just because I updated last week and this week on time doesn't mean it'll be the same for next week, because that's just how life is unfortunately.

Thanks to **Strgrl4eva, hawkflyer667, xheartkreuzx**, and **Souxie 2.0** for the motivation!

Please review!


	5. Escape

fadsfadf

--

Chapter 5

--

When no one was looking, Star moved Danny's limp form off of her gently. She examined his face; it was already starting to swell and turn a nasty bruised color.

Why did he do that? Why did he take this just to get a few words out about her? He knew what was coming for him too. She didn't know what to think.

Danny was unconscious for most of the day, his unmoving form leaning up against hers. It wasn't awkward as long as he wasn't aware of it, she decided. They continued giving him his shots every two hours, even though he wasn't awake for them. Always after the shot she felt Danny shiver against her, even though his body was burning hot. That stuff wasn't good.

Without Danny awake, everything was rather uneventful. Star even drifted off to sleep once or twice. The only noticeable thing that happened was Bill, who was now driving, suddenly let out a cheer, and said, "Welcome home boys! We just crossed the state line!" Everyone let out a small sound of relief.

Danny squirmed at the noise. "I say we celebrate! I'm sick of this car." Greg stated.

Wes grumbled, "We all are, Greg."

"Can't we just stop and eat at a McDonalds or something?" Bill asked, joining Greg's argument. Max, as always, stayed silent.

Wes actually looked thoughtful. "Welllllll…" He drawled out. He looked back at Danny, lying unconscious. "As long as the ghost is still out it doesn't look like they're be much action… and we could lock the gate," he said, gesturing to a stretchable gate Star had overlooked that could be pulled shut and locked to keep the back secured. "Child lock the doors… put up the sun blind… yeah why not," Wes finally agreed. It was obvious he was making up excuses to get out of the cramped area.

So with the sun low in the sky, they pulled into the first McDonalds they saw. Once they pulled into a parking spot, they set to work. Star watched as they first they made sure the back doors were child locked, then they pulled out the gate and padlocked it to the other side, and Wes put the key in his pocket.

Then they put up the sunblind on the front and side windows so no one could see in. Then one by one they tumbled out of the car, but before Greg left he added, "And don't bother screaming. No one will hear you." Her heart sank.

Then he left and locked the doors behind him. There was silence for a while, and Star listened as their voices faded until they went inside.

Star started to move Danny off of her, to go and check to see if the gate was as strong as it looked, when suddenly Danny sprang up. Star stifled her scream.

He half smiled apologetically. "Sorry." Star did a weak attempt at smiling back, trying to calm her racing heart down. Then he got serious. "I've been waiting to get a word with you alone, and it looks like this might be one of the only chances we'll get."

Then he started whispering and looking around, afraid someone was going to hear him. "Okay. We need an escape plan. Have any ideas?"

Star tried to say something, but her voice died in he throat. She was talking to Danny Phantom! She quickly shook off the thought with a _'no I am talking to Danny _Fenton_.' _"Nothing. The gate is padlocked, and the key is in Wes's pocket, these doors are child locked, the van is sound proof or something, and-"

"I know." Danny cut her off. She gave him a look. Once again he smiled sheepishly. "I was awake since they started cheering when they crossed the state line." Star's mouth formed an 'O'.

Danny felt the need to explain himself, "Sorry for lying on you so long, but you see, one of the things I learned after all these years is if you've been knocked out, you're vulnerable, which isn't a situation you want to be in, trust me. A good tip is to pretend like you're still out to figure out what situation you're in. If I hadn't done that they might not have gone here."

That's when the whole 'I'm talking to Danny Fenton not Phantom thing' died. He was one and the same. Star just decided not to think into it too deeply and nodded slowly, "I guess there's some sense in that…" She squeaked. She cleared her throat, and got back to the point. "So do you have an escape plan, because I sure don't."

Danny winced and was silent for a second. Then he nodded. Star's insides went into a knot. "I don't like it though. If there were a better one, I would definitely take it. This one is going to leave me really weak and we would have to do it _now_."

Star started excitedly, "Well what is it?!"

"I turn us both intangible, and we run for it," he replied back. Star's excitement turned to confusion.

"What are you talking about? I thought you didn't have your powers!" She accused.

" I don't. Well… kinda," Danny bit his lip, and Star looked at him, feeling irritation rising up in her. He has his powers?! Why were they still here then?! Seeing her thought process, Danny quickly explained what he was talking about.

"The reason I'm reacting so badly to those shots is because I'm fighting back. My body is trying to become immune to it or something, and every time I get another shot I have to start all the way over. But now I think I am starting to overcome them faster… and I think I might have just enough to turn both you and me intangible."

"Well what are we waiting for?!"

Danny replied, "Well… it's going to take a lot out of me. I'll be really weak after it. But then we have no idea where we are and we have to find a place to hide. And if they catch us, I'll do everything I can to keep them away from you, but they'll be furious at both of us for trying to escape… I might not be able to protect you."

Star winced, trying not to think of the consequences, but they needed to escape, and this might be their only chance. "Don't worry. Once we get out of this car I'll help you run away, and since we're two scrawny teenagers we'll be able to find a place to hide, and if they catch us… well we'll both pay for it because I want to get out of here just as much as you do."

Danny looked at her for a second, and then he nodded, this time more of a serious nod. "Alright. Give me your hands."

Star reached out with her bound hands and Danny grabbed the ropes. Star did the same to his. Then he closed his eyes, his face the picture of concentration. His breathing got heavier, more ragged.

Suddenly, starting from the top of his head, he went intangible and slowly, like gravy, it poured down the rest of his body until it climbed into Danny's hands, into Stars ropes, and into Star.

She shivered as she suddenly felt a tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach as she slowly became intangible. Danny's hands were shaking in hers by the time he finally made both of them entirely intangible.

"Jump!" Danny exclaimed and without a second thought, she jumped out the back of the car, pulling Danny out with her. When they hit the ground they were already tangible again. It took a moment for Star's eyes to adjust to the sudden light. After blinking a few times she looked around, and she felt her heart sink. "Oh no…" She whispered.

Danny, still on the ground beside her, tensed, "'Oh no' what?" She looked down to see him shivering on the ground gasping and hugging his middle, pain etched onto his face. His body was reacting to the chemicals even worse now he had used his powers.

He looked up and scanned the area. Then he closed his eyes, and breathed, "crap."

After a moment, he tried to get up, but gasping sharply, he fell back to the ground, breathing heavily. He wouldn't look up at her. Star could tell he was trying to hide his agony, but it was painfully obvious.

She kneeled down next to him and hooking her arms around his chest, helped him to his knees. Then she slung his arm around her shoulder, and taking a deep breath, she slowly helped him to his feet. With one arm still clutching his abdomen, and his bangs falling over his face, he whispered, "thanks."

Star looked out again. As far as the eye could see were empty fields and flat land. A good while away from them was the highway, and a little while in front of them was a dirt road. There was no place to hide. It looked like there was a barn, but it was still just a speck in the distance. Star, nearly having to drag Danny, peaked around the car, and saw the McDonalds. It was the only building in sight… not even a gas station.

There were only two other cars parked in the parking lot besides their van. Probably workers, she decided. In desperation, she looked anywhere for a place they could hide. That's when Danny pointed out towards the dirt road. Squinting, she saw something... a jogger.

"C'mon, lets get out of here." Danny gasped. With most of his weight on Star, they started to slowly hobble over to the runner.

It was a good walk away. Star knew at the rate they were going, they were going to miss the runner by the time they reached the road. Danny was really trying hard to keep his footing, but he was shaking so bad he could barely stand. "Maybe he has a cell phone. Then we could call the police." Star said, more to herself than to Danny.

He nodded. "That's what I'm hoping for too," he breathed so quietly that Star almost missed it. She had never seen Danny so weak. It really rattled her.

When the jogger got close enough, Star started waving her free hand wildly, trying to get his attention. She was too scared to yell, just in case Wes or Greg came out and heard her.

Luckily, the runner spotted her and veered off the road, jogging towards them. "Howdy there!" He yelled, waving back. "Looks like you need a hand!"

Finally the runner approached them. It was a middle-aged man wearing blue shorts and a white shirt. He was covered in sweat and smelled nasty. "Everything okay?" He asked worriedly as he came to a stop in front of them. His eyes widened once he got sight of a bruised and bloody Danny. "What happened ta ya? Did ya git run over by ah lawn mower?" He had a southern accent.

Danny gasped out, "Do you have a cell phone? Is there any houses around here we can hide in?"

Now alarmed, the man replied, "No, I neva carry my cell on me while runin'. And the next house is still way up the road. Why? What's wrong?"

Danny groaned, and then said, "How much further?"

"Just a lil' way up the road, you'll be able to see it in a second. What's going on?" The jogger asked again.

"We've been kidnapped, and we need to get out of here, _now_." Danny stated, his voice surprisingly strong. "They're still eating up at McDonalds. I don't know how much longer they'll take."

The runner mouthed wordlessly for a moment. "K- kidnapped?! What is this? Some sorta sick joke?"

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Danny asked rhetorically. "Star, I think I can walk myself now," he murmured to her. She slowly took her supporting arms away, and let Danny stand on his own. He was already panting with effort. He took a shaky step forward, and with a sharp intake of air, he fell to his hands and knees.

The runner and Star were there in a second, helping him to his feet again. With Danny nearly dragging in the middle, they started to walk back towards the road.

There was a pause while the runner seemed to soak their situation in, and Danny regained his breath. "What state are we in?" Danny finally asked.

The jogger seemed to be startled out of his train of thought, "Nebraska."

"Nebraska!" Star repeated in a breathless and unbelieving tone.

"Where're ya from? What's y'all's name?" The runner asked.

"We're from Amity Park. I'm Danny Fenton, and she's Star Connelly." Danny replied.

The runner tripped, but quickly caught his balance. "You're- You're that one feller!" He exclaimed.

"Yep." Danny replied dryly, expecting that reaction. "Danny Phantom."

"That's it! Danny Phantom!" The jogger snapped his fingers. There was a shocked silence. Danny spotted a house off in the distance. Then the man said again, "You've been all ova the news! Why can't you just fly out of there?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "If I could I would, but they're canceling out my powers…" Danny trailed off as a car suddenly pulled around the corner ahead of them. Both Danny and Star came to a halt. They're timers must have beeped.

They were so close to safety too.

"Uhh- what's your name?" Danny said, oddly calm.

"Nate Harris." The runner replied back, looking back, and wondering why they stopped.

"Okay, Nate, take Star and run back the way you came to the next house. When you get there, call 911. I'll hold them off as long as I can." Nate looked confused, but Star suddenly felt the urge to throw up.

"But you're too weak!" She exclaimed, but she knew there was really no other way. "What if they shoot you?!"

"I won't let them… now go!" He yelled.

Nate, the situation finally dawning on said a quick, "Good luck kid," and already started dragging Star away, trying to get away from the danger. She struggled weakly against him, not wanting to leave Danny yet.

Danny gave a comforting half smile to her, trying to show her everything would be okay. She felt herself tear up. She would never forgive herself if she escaped and he died. Finally Nate forced her to turn around, and run back the other direction at a full out sprint.

After they were on their way, Danny took a deep breath and started shakily walking towards the oncoming car. He had some of his strength back… maybe he could tap into his powers again… maybe he could still escape… but deep in the pit of his stomach he knew that he didn't really have a chance.

But it didn't mean he wouldn't go down without a fight.

--

TBC.

Oh cliffhangers. I don't think I've had a big one like this for a while now. I have to write an essay and do an entire Latin project today though, so I'm going to make this brief.

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**Hawkflyer667**: For once I actually _do_ know! Normally I just write my story out spontaneously, but I actually have this one planed out. Muhahhahhha! Hope this chapter lived up to all the hype.

**Purrbaby101**: Yes, I am really trying hard to make the kidnappers complete a-holes. And school just stinks. I've actually been doing pretty good balancing everything though, but there is some days where I have no free time. For example, last Monday. I didn't get any free time until 1 in the morning, and I decided to go to bed. Stupid volleyball/ English essays.

**Garnet Sky**: Oh it's coming. Not his chapter obviously, but soon.

**Mary Blondine**: Here! More suspense! Enjoy!

**Xheartkreuzx**: Thanks! I try.

**Strgrl4eva**: Yeah, my priorities are shot by a little something called procrastination. And I know what you're talking about. I hate the really graphic stuff, so I try to stay away from it. And it's cool that you're good at romance and stuff, cuz that's one thing that I'm not too great at yet, but I'm working on it. Haha.

Alright, enough procrastination. I have to go work now. See you next chapter!

Review please! Especially if you found any blaring mistakes… I didn't edit over this one properly.


	6. Danny's Fight for Star's Flight

fadsfadf

-_Previously_-

After they were on their way, Danny took a deep breath and started shakily walking towards the oncoming car. He had some of his strength back… maybe he could tap into his powers again… maybe he could still escape… but deep in the pit of his stomach he knew that he didn't really have a chance.

He would still try though.

--

_Chapter 6_

--

It didn't take long for the car to come to a halt in front of him. He stopped as the four men scrambled out of the car, weapons in hand. They looked slightly terrified, but mostly enraged that he tried to escape.

Danny looked calmly at the four guns pointed at his head. "IF YOU DON'T GET BACK IN THE CAR, I SWEAR I'LL SHOOT!" The fiery redhead screamed.

Danny observed skillfully Greg's unsteady hand. Even if he did shoot, he would probably miss. Probably had never even shot a gun before. He saw Wes and Bill shift uncomfortably and shoot a worried glance between Greg, Greg's gun, and Danny. They weren't going to shoot… they were too worried about their plan going wary… what ever it was.

Danny looked over Max critically. He was the only one that held his gun steady, his finger applying a slight pressure to the trigger. If Danny were going to be shot by anyone, it would be him.

"If I come quietly, will you let Star go?" Danny yelled back. There was a slight hesitation.

"You're in no place to negotiate with us Phantom! Just get back in the car, and we won't shoot," Wes replied, his voice high strung. Danny's fears were confirmed: he was going to have to fight.

Danny kept his eyes trained on Max's gun, and measured his power level. He still felt like he was swimming though honey… but a more watery honey than when he phased Star and himself out.

Biting his lip, he worked out a battle plan. He decided to work up an ectoblast and take out Max's gun first. He knew he was gambling with Greg's hand, but he had no other choice… he just hoped his intuition was right, and Greg would miss. The other two wouldn't shoot. They would have to go down with hand-to-hand combat.

"I won't come unless you let her go!" Danny shouted back, trying to buy himself some time. He already knew their answer was a firm 'no'. She knew too much. She could easily give a description.

He wasn't sure if he could take on four full-grown men without his powers, but he needed to try. If he didn't get away, at least he would give Star enough time to have a chance of escaping. He put his hand behind his back and started to tug at his powers.

"We'll think about it, only if you _get back in the van_!" Wes yelled, his voice betraying him.

Finally his ectoball sprang into life, and he applied power to it steadily, making it grow bigger. The energy he was spending made him slightly dizzy, but he didn't stop. It wasn't nearly as powerful as the ones he easily lobed at ghosts, but it would still do a bit of damage to a human, which was exactly what he was going for.

"Sorry, but that's not good enough," Danny growled, and finally threw the ectoball at Max. It exploded right in front of him, sending Max tumbling back, gun flying out of his hand.

A gunshot rang out, and Danny hit the ground. He didn't feel any biting pain, he didn't see any new blood, and so he rightly assumed that his prediction was right. Greg missed.

He heard yelling. He stood back up to see Wes wrestling the gun from Greg's hands, and Bill was nearly already on top of him.

Danny shot to the side and stood up to face Bill, grabbing one of his outstretched hands and whirling him to the other side of him with such force that he fell to the ground. Jumping over him, Danny tried to run over to grab Max's gun before he found it again, but he found himself falling to the ground. With a muffled "Oof!" he hit the road, and he could feel the rough gravel scrape his knees and hands. Danny turned around to see Bill holding his leg.

Bill yanked him closer, and Danny could feel the rocks digging into his back. Bill thought that by pulling him closer would be to his advantage, but he soon realized it was a mistake. As soon and he got close enough, Danny swung out his free foot and kicked him as hard as he could in the face.

Bill screamed clutching his face, and this got the attention of the other two that were still struggling over the gun. However, Danny was already back on his feet and running past them to get Max's gun, who was just now picking himself up. However Danny found himself distracted again, when he felt someone jump onto his back.

Danny struggled to stay up, but the weight proved overwhelming and he hit the ground again. Danny tried to roll out from under Greg or Wes, but found himself unable to. The weight was crushing him. Suddenly he felt a hand grab a hand full of hair and yanked hard. Danny yelped, the pain forcing him to lift up his head and his eyes to water.

"I've got ya now kid," Said Wes' voice in his ear. Danny struggled from under him, trying to free himself. He was able to free his arm, and so he sharply elbowed Wes in the chest.

Wes grunted and his hand loosened his hair a bit. Danny, using all of his might, used his one arm to push himself off the ground, but all it did was roll the two over. Danny used this to his advantage to struggle to his back and got into his customary 'kicking off' position he had learned during his ghost fights.

He kneed Wes in the stomach and pulled Wes' hand away from his head, and then using both feet, kicked Wes off of him. He rolled to a stop a few feet away.

However, lying on the ground made him vulnerable, and even though Danny was expecting Greg's attack, he wasn't able to get up fast enough. A powerful kick from the side caused Danny to cry out. It was quickly followed by another, and another. Knowing that each blow weakened him more, he hurriedly rolled out of the way and tried to stand up, but Greg tackled him to the ground again, his hands clawing at his throat. Then they got a firm hold.

With his windpipe being held closed, Danny gasped and spluttered for air, but wasn't able to take any in. Sending a glare up at Greg, Danny tried to get back into his 'kicking off' position, but Greg's knees latched down his legs. "Get the shot!" Greg yelled over his shoulder.

Danny's hands tried to pry loose Greg's from around his throat but they held tight. He squeezed shut his eyes and struggled wildly under his hold, his need for air starting to make him panic. It would take concentration Danny knew he didn't have to turn intangible. His vision started to go hazy and he realized that if he didn't get out from his hold Greg was going to choke him to death.

Desperate for air, Danny did a risky attempt at taking his hands away from prying loose Greg's to reach up, grab the collar of his shirt, pull him closer, and punch.

It worked. Greg reeled back, his hand loosing enough for Danny to sharply roll from under him. Gasping in precious air, Danny sprang up and did a round house kick, kicking Greg in the chest and making him fly back into the open car door.

Greg fumbled up to his knees, shooting death glares at Danny. Taking his opportunity, Danny ran over to him, and with Greg's head in perfect alignment, slammed the car door on his head.

The door bounced back sharply and Greg collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Then Danny had a mild coughing attack. He rubbed his raw throat, and gasped out in a gravely voice. "One down, three to go."

That's when Bill appeared out of the back of the car with the shot, his nose crooked and heavily bleeding. Danny lunged. He kicked Bill's large stomach and he stumbled back. Then Danny ran up to him and punched his face, causing his head to snap to the right.

Finally, using a skill that his mom taught him during one of their training sessions they had started after they learned about his alter ego, he flipped behind Bill, found the pressure point on his neck, and karate chopped it. Bill fell to the ground, out like a light.

Danny, smirking, grabbed the shot in Bill's relaxed hand, and quickly dispersed all of its contents out onto the ground, making a small green puddle that shimmered and bubbled slightly. "No wonder I react so badly to that stuff," Danny said to nobody in particular as he broke the container in half and tossed it away.

That's when Danny felt a stabbing pain from behind him that was quickly followed by the familiar feeling of fire spreading throughout him. Yelping, he whirled around. Wes was wearing sick grin, holding up the half empty shot.

Danny groaned as his world stated to spin, but kept his feat firmly planted on the ground. He clumsily dodged as Wes lunged at him, and instead swung a punch that caused Wes to stumble back. However Wes recovered quickly and tackled him, causing Danny's back to hit the car, his head slamming into it. His world burst into stars before starting to recede into black.

'_No!_' he thought. '_I already have two out, one down, and Wes… I can pull through this_!' Wes held him against the car and tried to stab the shot back in, but Danny struggled, and was finally able to knee him in the gut.

Then Danny threw a hit at his face, and Wes fell back. Taking his advantage, Danny picked him up by his collar, whirled him around and threw him back into the car. The impact created an even bigger dent, and Wes fell to the ground, unconscious.

Not being immediately attacked gave him a nice break, catching his breath and rubbing his neck, he scanned the area, looking for Max. He blinked the stars away from his eyes and shook the exhaustion off.

He was gone.

He knew Max was still conscious. The blast Danny sent at him only stunned him. He walked around the car, but the area was clear too. Suddenly he felt a familiar tingling shoot up his spine, but his ghost sense didn't actually go off. He still knew the feeling though. He was about to be attacked.

One last time he looked around wildly for Max. For a moment he was staring into an empty field, the then he was staring right into Max's face. He yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards.

Then with a quick swooping motion of Max's arm, Danny suddenly felt like he was tied up with invisible bonds. He blinked, pausing in confusion before he started struggling.

Max started to silent mutter, and with three feet of space between them, Danny was thrown backwards into the car. He crumbled to the ground. He looked up at Max, feeling like he was looking through a tunnel. "W-what's going on?" He asked, trying to clear his head. "How are you doing that?"

Max just glared at him, and Danny felt another chill go up his spine. It was the first time he had really looked at him, and the hatred in his eyes was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"You deserve everything that's coming to you, Danny," Max's low baritone voice hissed.

--

TBC…

This chapter is kind of like part one of chapter six, but I'm still going to call the next chapter "seven". Sorry I haven't updated. I had "Parent's weekend" and the dreaded PSATs. Yes, I'm a junior, but our school makes us take them twice. SAT's are in December. Get excided! Not.

Review replies!

**Souxie 2.0**- oh. Well, yes the upcoming car was the kidnappers. I guess I didn't really make that clear last chapter. Humm. And yes, I would like the overused "keep it up!" instead of a whip. Heh… o.o; That'll be nice.

**Hawkflyer667**- It's just because cliffies are so much fun! Because I know what's going to happen, but everybody else flips out! Muahahhahaha

**CrimsonMoon14**- Well, I hope you liked this chapter then, and I'll keep on writing! Thanks for the review!

**Writer's-BlockDP**- Yep. It's just that Danny is way too much fun to put through these situations. And we could all use a little more free time, right?

**Purrbaby101**- Oh yes. I've actually had to do _three_ latin projects this past two weeks. It's been rough. And yes, it was really an evil cliffhanger, and we still don't know about Star yet. I can be so mean some times… now go do homework! Haha…

**Strgrl4eva**- Yep. I'm trying to stay at least a little bit true to her character in the actual show... haha, it stinks you're grounded. What were you grounded for?

**Xheartkreuzx**- Indeed. Haha, and sorry for the wait!

**Garnet Sky-** thanks! And thanks for complimenting Nate's accent. I read "Their eyes were watching God" over this summer for my English class, and the entire book they're like, "Naw, Ah need two mules dis yeah. Taters is goin' tuh be taters in de fall. Bringin' big prices." (p.27) Took me a while. Ah means I, dis means this, tuh means to, and yeah means year etc. It was crazy.

All right, well I think I will be able to update next weekend… maybe… actually I have Cappies show. Humm.

Review!


	7. Max's Story

_-Previously- _

Max started to silent mutter, and with three feet of space between them, Danny was thrown backwards into the car. He crumbled to the ground. He looked up at Max, feeling like he was looking through a tunnel. "W-what's going on?" He asked, trying to clear his head. "How are you doing that?"

Max just glared at him, and Danny felt another chill go up his spine. It was the first time he had really looked at him, and the hatred in his eyes was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"You deserve everything that's coming to you, Danny," Max's low baritone voice hissed.

---

Chapter 7

---

Danny glared back, but with a bit of surprise, he realized this was the first time anyone had called him by his first name.

Max started to walk away, but Danny called back to him, "Why can't I move? What did you do to me?"

Max didn't answer. "What is this? Do you have some sort of telepathic powers or something?"

Max dragged Greg and tossed him into the back of the car carelessly. Danny's small hope of escape died… but maybe Star could still get away, if he talked long enough. Hopefully she was already in Nate's car driving to the police station. But just in case, he wanted to slack as much as possible, so he decided to keep asking questions.

"What did I ever do to you guys anyways?" Danny asked, finally giving up struggling against his invisible bonds. "All I've tried to do is to put other ghosts back in the Ghost Zone, and _this_ is what I get? I don't understand. I'm just trying to be the good guy…" Danny closed his eyes and gently laid his head on the van behind him. He felt rather than saw Max tossing in Wes.

Danny felt utterly powerless. He didn't know what was going on, he didn't know how to escape, he didn't know if Star was going to get away, and he didn't know if he was going to live through this ordeal. All he did know, was that getting his powers back was futile, especially, now that he knew that Max was some type of ghost… or something.

Suddenly Danny felt like he was being watched. He opened his eyes, and saw Max analyzing him with his harsh eyes. "You're telling me you have no idea what you did?" Max said just above a whisper, his voice trembling with rage.

"That's what I've been saying from the beginning," Danny shot back irritably.

Max, clenched his fists, and took as step forward. Danny tensed, not sure if he was going to be hit or not. There was a charged silence, then Max, nostrils flared, turned and dealt with Bill. Danny let out a sigh of relief, and decided it wasn't a good idea to ask questions to someone that close to the brink.

When Max started talking, Danny jumped. "When I was twenty-three, I was attending the University of Amity, only an hour drive away from my family's house." Danny gave him a confused look, but Max ignored it. In fact, he didn't even look at Danny. "My family was very close. My mother and father had been married for twenty years. I was the oldest, and my sister was only seven.

"She had long black hair that went to her mid-back. She refused to cut it, and she took good care of it. Mom used to love playing with it. She would braid it, curl it, brush it… Heather had a strong personality, and she was the top of her grade. Anyone she met would absolutely fall in love with her."

Max's voice was just a whisper. His eyes held an emotion that Danny had only seen once before… but he couldn't place where. Danny paid attention, but not really getting what this had to do with him, he started dividing his attention on thinking of ways he could escape and take Max down. His powers were useless, because he was injected with half of the shot.

Suddenly Max's eyes hardened, and his voice changed. "And do you know what the funny thing is Phantom? Out of all the people that loved her… she said that she had only one true love. She said that one day she was going to marry Danny Phantom, the hero of Amity Park." He glared down at Danny, and Danny looked back up at him.

"She always talked about you. 'Phantom this, Phantom that'… she defended your hero status when everyone thought you were evil. Her story was one day you would save her life, and you would both fly off into the sunset, and live happily ever after. She was seven… she didn't know… she had no idea…"

His tone of voice changed again, he seemed to be getting a little choked up. Danny watched, waiting, and he felt his heart sinking lower and lower with each word. He didn't like where this was going, and he had a feeling that out of all of his kidnappers, Max was the only one that actually had a reason to kill him.

"Then, about four months ago, on Sunday night, I left the house quietly to drive back to the University. As I was driving, the sun was setting and the sky was red. I remember it being blood red… and that's when I remembered I had left my backpack back at the house. I was gone only for twenty minutes.

"And then- as I was nearing the house- I saw smoke furling into the sky. Surely it was just a bonfire, but just in case, I sped up a little. And then, when I turned the corner, I saw it. My house was totally engulfed in flames.

"The official report was gas leak. The leak didn't have much time to spread when my mother turned on the stove. The lower half of our house was the first to go… along with my mother.

"My dad was half way up the steps when it happened. He was blown backwards, but he was still alive when the firemen got hold of him. He was a mess. I remember scrambling out of my car just as the fire trucks arrived. I tried to go in, to save them, but they held me back. They declared it unfit to go in for a while. The fire was too hot and spreading too quickly, the conditions were risky.

"They asked me how many people were in there… I could barely answer. My family… three people. And that's when we heard it, even over the roar of the flames and the thundering hoses… the screams. My sister started screaming.

"I collapsed to the ground, and I prayed. I prayed and prayed. If only the firemen could somehow just walk through the flames, fly in and out of the house… and then a wild inspiration hit me…" He finally looked at Danny, and the look in his eyes seemed to stop his heart.

"Danny Phantom wouldn't let his number one fan die… he would surely hear about the fire… see the smoke. If he were the hero he really is, then he would save her. Her dream would come true. And I actually believed that, and I waited for you to come. Even after the screams stopped, and the firemen rescued my dad, I believed that she was just unconscious, and that you would come flying in to save the day.

"But you never did." The words cut Danny like knife, leaving deep scars.

Max was crying now, but he seemed not to care. Tears were rolling down his face like candle wax. He quickly turned away to collect the four guns scattered on the ground.

There was a long pause, and Danny couldn't find his voice. Suddenly Max started talking again, his voice was just a whisper.

"They found what was left of her body. They couldn't even identify it. Mom was blown to pieces. Dad survived, but not for long. He lost his sight, but he was so depressed that he overdosed on his meds. Everyone thinks it's an accident, and I go along with it to preserve his honor… but I know the truth."

Then Max started laughing a dry, worn-out laugh. "And I can't believed I thought you were going to swoop in and save the day. I put my hope in you, but you didn't even bother. You just got on with your little perfect life. And now my family's dead. You could have saved them. Heather used to think you were a hero… but now I know what you really are, ever since it came out on the news.

"You're just a selfish ghost who pretends to help save the city so you can gain innocent supporters like Heather, and then you can feast off of their fear and anguish as their hopes are crushed as you sit there and watch them _DIE_!"

"No-" Danny whispered, struck. The words seemed to physically handicap him. "No- I would never… I didn't know…" Sam and Tucker had warned him of this. They warned him that he can't save everybody, but Danny felt like he needed to try. Now he was sitting, wounded on an abandoned street, realizing for the first time what those words meant.

Max seemed to have a red gleam to his eye. "I knew what I had to do then. I knew I had to kill you… and you would have to suffer like my sister did. I will save all of your fans from destruction. You have to die, ghost, before you tear anymore families apart- give anyone else false hope." Then his laugh changed, and he sounded insane. "So I wished and prayed for an answer to come to me. I knew I couldn't do it by myself if I wanted to see you suffer. I tried to rally up other people for the cause… but they didn't buy into it."

"Then, one night, after another attempt to get someone to see what you really were… I sat outside my apartment and prayed. I wished so badly to find a way to avenge my sister… and then an angel came.

"She told me that she would grant me one wish. So- in awe- I told my story, and I told her my goal. She seemed pleased. She told me that I must do her bidding, and then… I woke up. I was in my apartment. I thought it was just a dream. I got frustrated. I got so mad that I felt like I was going to burst. That's when all of the windows in my apartment building shattered. As the day went on, I realized there was something different about me… I had these powers.

"According to my emotions and my thoughts, I could control things. I went out and found Wes, Bill, and Greg, and I took control of them. I brain washed them to follow my commands.

"Then I tested my powers on weaker ghosts. I slowly figured out what I could do to them… but how can you kill a ghost, and make sure they won't come back? Then, after weeks, I found the perfect way to dispense of your kind. As soon as I discovered this, I decided it was time to finally avenge Heather… and I captured you.

"So here we are… I could kill you now, if I wanted. I could watch you writhe and scream right here on this dusty old road, but I know better. I know that I have to be patient, and that by the end it will all be worth it."

Then Max turned away from Danny, who still found the hurt of his words so raw that he couldn't even move. He suddenly let out a shaky breath that he wasn't realizing he was holding. Waves of emotions hit him… one's he wasn't even sure were his. He realized that Max could be forcing him to go through emotional agony, but at that point he didn't really care.

He could have saved that little girl. Maybe she was waiting for him in her room while the fire surged towards her door… wanting him to save her. He tried not to think of her last thoughts, of how her hero didn't come through for her. Danny dropped his head between his knees in defeat. He wasn't a hero. He was just a confused teenager with powers he didn't know what to do with.

Max came back into view with the shot. Danny didn't even look up, didn't even try to apologize, and for the first time took the shot without struggling. As the liquid fire spread throughout his system, he thought maybe he deserved all of this.

He closed his eyes in pain and his breathing got labored. He felt Max's eyes on him, watching him calmly as the shot slowly started to take over. He had now taken a shot and half, and his body was not used to the dosage. With a small moan he finally gave in to the welcoming darkness.

---

TBC…

This chapter sucks. I'm sorry. I might go back and edit this story later, but for right now, I'm just trying to get it posted up. I'm so tired. School has me running around 24/7.

Review replies:

Xheartkreuzx- Thank you for noticing that! Haha, sorry for another long wait though.

Hawkflyer667- Here's the next chapter… and I don't even want to think about PSAT's right now… have you ever heard of the word gerrymandering? Yeah… I was confused.

Strgrl4eva- Oh god. I completely understand... I'm already sad for senior year. My Volleyball season just ended, and I was sad because I was thinking "this is the last time I'll be comforted with the thought 'oh, well there's always next year!' I can't even imagine Senior year. Any college ideas yet?

Em Phantom- Humm. That's a good idea, except I kind of think of Danni as this mysterious person just doing her own thing… so I don't think Tucker and Sam would know where she is. Plus it's humans that kidnapped him. If it was a ghost, then that would fit better I think. But that's a good idea! haha

Paegoghost- Way to procrastinate at school. Hahahaha, yeah so Danny didn't get away. Sorry. More suspense and stuff to come! And thanks for reviewing all of my chapters! It helps my esteem. lol

Okay, so sorry for the sucky chapter. I'm just too dang lazy to do anything about it.

Review please!


	8. Failure

_-Previously- _

"Danny Phantom wouldn't let his number one fan die… he would surely hear about the fire… see the smoke. Her dream would come true. And I actually believed that, and I waited for you to come. Even after the screams stopped, and the firemen rescued my dad, I believed that my sister was just unconscious, and that you would come flying in to save the day.

"But you never did."

Max came back into view with the shot. Danny didn't even look up, didn't even try to apologize, and for the first time took the shot without struggling. As the liquid fire spread throughout his system, he thought maybe he deserved all of this. With a small moan he finally gave into the welcoming darkness.

---

Chapter 8

---

Star closed the door to the bathroom quietly. She looked over at Nate who was just putting the phone back into its cradle. "They're on their way. I told them what the car looked like, just in case. They'll be here soon."

Star nodded numbly to him, but panic kept rising up like bile. She checked out the window for the millionth time, trying to see if she could see anything, but as usual, it was just out of sight. She was too scared to go stick her head out of the door.

They may not want to kill Danny, but they could definitely kill her.

That's when she heard it. The crunching of gravel under tires right outside the door. Then everything went quite. Nate had heard it too, and they both froze. Nate seemed like he wanted to run, but the only way out was through the front door.

Instead he looked sadly over at Star. "Hide," he whispered urgently, and then he left the room. Star dove behind the couch. Nate came back with knife from the kitchen in his hand.

There was a moment of silence, and Star felt goose bumps break out over her body. If they were here, what had they done to Danny? Nate shifted uneasily from foot to foot, not knowing the best way to hold the weapon, facing up, or pointing down.

Before he could decide, the door burst off of its hinges with such force that Nate was blown backwards. Star screamed, but quickly clamped her mouth shut. She couldn't stop shaking.

There stood Max, the sunlight casting his silhouette into the small house. Star blinked, and Max was calmly standing over Nate, who yelped in surprise. She squeaked. What was going on? Star, watching, tried to back further into the shadows.

Then she saw the familiar crowbar gleam in the dull lighting, and with a quick, but powerful motion of his arm, Max struck down on Nate's head. She didn't have time to advert her eyes as her saviors head snapped back to the ground. Star felt like she was going to cry or puke as she saw blood starting to pool on the floor.

Then, with inhuman speed, Max was standing in front of her. She whimpered as he roughly grabbed her arm and slammed her back into the wall. His hand was clutching her arm so tightly she thought it was going to snap. Tears suddenly blurred her vision, and panic made her see stars.

Instead of fainting, she went into fight or flight mode. She stomped on his foot as hard as she could manage, and then tried to pull the traditional poke the eyes out move, however he just grabbed her wrist. She grunted in frustration, but then in pain as he started to bend her wrist back.

She tried to writhe away from him, but his grip was too strong. "No! Stop!" She pleaded in anguish, tears pouring down her face. He was going to break her wrist. Yelling, she lashed out, and hit him in the groin.

Not expecting that, his grip loosened slightly as he grunted, and Star was able to twist out of his grasp. Then, while he was handicapped, she ran for it. She made it to the front door before he grabbed her hair and yanked.

She screamed as she lost her footing and fell to the ground. Then all she saw was the familiar glint of silver, and she was gone.

---

When Danny opened his eyes, he was surrounded by flames. It took him a second to process the information, before he jumped up. He didn't know where he was. Danny quickly took off into the air, trying to find a way out… but before he could even get three feet off the ground, he fell back to the earth.

Then he heard screaming.

He whirled around and saw his family and friends, all tied to the boiler. But he knew it was too late for them… there was no way he could get there on time to save them. Danny started running anyways, but then he heard another scream.

He hesitated, looking back. He saw a house on fire, and a small girl, on the second floor, screaming for help. She tried to pry the window open, but it was stuck. She screamed for his help, but he turned his back on her to save his family… he would go back as soon as they were freed.

Then he realized he had hesitated a second too long, for now he was stuck, somehow glued to the pavement. The fire was getting closer and closer- then there was a flash of light… he knew he was too late. He knew he had failed to save them. He looked back up at the house, which was not engulfed in flames. The only thing he could see in the window was fire.

He fell to his knees. Through his anguish, he barely noticed Star standing next to him. She bent down to comfort him when Earth itself seemed to tear open beneath them, and suck them in.

…

Danny's eyes fluttered open slowly, and it took several blinks to figure out where he was. It was not a happy sight. He was back in the van, the engine humming smoothly beneath him. It was dark. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly sat up.

He looked around. Max, who was the only one capable of driving, was in the front with Greg, who was looking worse for wear, in the passengers. He was holding an ice pack to his head, and sleeping. Danny was grimly satisfied with the damage he done. He guessed he probably gave Greg a concussion.

Wes was sitting opposite of him, his head lolling on his shoulders as he slept, and Bill, who was trying to scrape blood off of his shirt, was sitting across from a sleeping Star.

Looking at his classmate, Danny felt his heart sink down to his feet. Their escape attempt was useless… but then Danny looked closer at her, and felt something hot creep up his back. Her wrist was swollen, and her arms were bruised, and she had dried blood on the back of her shirt. Danny growled.

Bill jumped, and looked up at him. Bill shot him a death glare and scrambled over to Wes. Pulling on his sleeve to wake him up he hissed, "He's awake!"

Wes jumped and looked wildly around. Then, remembering where he was he looked down at Danny, and also sent him a nasty look.

"So glad you decided to join us ghost," Wes snarled.

Danny ignored him, and looked straight up at Max, "Why did you do to her?" Danny snarled with such venom that the car went silent. Nobody said anything.

"What did you do to her?!" Danny asked again his voice rising. "Why did you have to grab her again?! What has she ever done to you!?"

It was Wes who finally answered. "She tried to escape, she paid the consequences."

Danny only gave a fleeing glance to Wes, and turned back to Max. "She has nothing to do with this. You want me—not her. She's not in anyway a part of your master plan! If anything she should remind you of--" then his throat seemed to close. He blinked, and realized he couldn't breathe. He shot Max a panicked look to see him concentrating.

Max was telepathically suffocating him.

Danny struggled to take a breath in, and fell back to the side of the car. His neck strained to throw off the invisible obstruction. Wes and Bill looked at him warily. Danny started seeing flashes of lights behind his eyelids. He sank down, muscles tensed, but unable to do anything.

Then the spell was lifted. Danny took in great gasps of air, drinking it in like water. He stayed on the floor of the van, panting. Then he glared daggers at Max, who just gave him his cool, calculating look back. It made Danny shiver.

Suddenly the car hit the rigging on the side of the road that made a loud rumbling sound, singling they were veering off the highway. Max quickly looked back to the road and corrected the van.

Yet the noise was loud enough to wake Greg, and even Star stretched and turned over. Danny looked up at the wrong moment and saw Greg look down at him for the first time. They made eye contact.

Then Greg seemed to burst from his seat, struggling with his seatbelt for a second. Danny involuntarily flinched back. Wes tried to step between them, but Greg just pushed him out of his way.

Surprisingly there was no glint of metal, no gunshot, no swinging fists… at least at first. Greg held Danny up to the side of the car by his dirty tee shirt, and whispered furiously, "I bet you feel so cool, picking us off like that don't cha?"

Danny didn't say anything, knowing better by this point. Wes grabbed on to Greg's shoulders and yanked him off of him. Danny fell back to the floor, and returned Greg's look.

"What were you thinking?" Greg hissed.

"Something along the lines of 'I want to go home'." Danny stated bluntly.

"Well after that incident punk, I'm personally making sure you'll never see any of them again!" Greg spat.

Danny looked up at Greg as Wes shoved him back into his seat. Then he looked back over at Star. Danny knew they weren't going to allow them another easy chance at escape… and sadly, he started to see Greg's threat as a possibility.

---

TBC…

Yikes… this chapter is a bit explicit… sorry guys. I just felt the need to show how scary the situation is from Star's POV. I think I've done that nicely, so I can move on a little bit… even though this story going to continue to get darker as we near the climax.

Now on to review replies!

Word Life 316- Thanks for the review! And yes... from here on out it is going to all be butterflies and rainbows. Don't worry. XD I'm so evil.

Pixie dust of doom- Your bad feeling was right. Good spot. And I think his history with Danny is just what was in the previous chapter… unless I decide to add something in.

Xheartkreuzx- Thanks for that. It made me feel a bit better about it. It's just I know I can write better than that… meh. Whatever. I'll rewrite it someday and I show you what that chapter could have been.

Hawkflyer667- Yeah, Heather's pretty much one of the sob stories… and you never know… this story might turn into a sob story as well…

Paegoghost- Max is a stupid idiot… but he's actually a lot of fun to write. But Max is blaming Danny for claiming to be a hero and then the one time he actually needs one, not being there. But yes… he is an idiot, and not thinking straight at all. And for your second review, yes. I tried to make it sad… but like I said, that chapter was not one of my strongest. I'll fix it one of these days, and then I'll show y'all just what I have up my sleeve.

Sevenfold- me too. Well… it says I'm doing something right if you guys hate him too.

Strgrl4eva- College. –shiver- that's all there is to say on that subject. And yes, that's exactly what Max has done. It's just that in Max's eyes, Danny has promised to make sure everyone gets an A on the test, and Max is one of the only people that didn't… but Danny can't help if Max is just a hopeless case.

That's all for this week. I almost didn't update. I probably shouldn't have updated because of the workload I have tonight… but I did, so be happy.

Please press the fancy little new review button for me!


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